The game of quoits is a centuries old outdoor game that was brought to the Americas during colonial times. The earliest forms of quoits were similar to the present game of horseshoes, but with the players taking turns throwing metal rings at a stake about 20 feet away. While horseshoes continues to thrive in the United States, the original metal ring version of quoits has basically disappeared in most of the country. Several modified versions of quoits, however, remain popular in the eastern United States, particularly in central and eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey. In the most popular modified version, which has been played in Pennsylvania for over 120 years, the metal rings have been replaced with rings made of hard rubber and weighing about one pound, while the ground stakes have been replaced with raised two-foot square boards preferably made of slate. In addition, a hub is provided including an aluminum or metal peg or pin which is secured extending upwardly from the center top of the board. A support, made of a durable material such as wood, is connected to the quoit board extending downwardly from the forward end of the board such that when the board is placed on a ground surface the playing face is raised and slanted or angled towards the players. Scoring rings are also provided on the face of the board spaced apart and extending concentrically outwardly from the pin. During play, two boards are set up facing each other about 18 ft. apart, and the players take turns tossing or pitching four rubber rings or quoits at a board. A cumulative scoring system based on the accuracy or results of the tosses is used to determine the winning player or team. Typically, a “ringer”, or quoit that lands over the peg, is awarded three points; if there are no ringers or leaners, the closest quoit to the peg is awarded one point. The first player or team to reach twenty-one points is the winner.
The slate board version of quoits just described became popular in eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey in large part because such area is the heart of the so-called “slate belt” of the United States, where large quantities of high-quality slate from which the quoit boards can be manufactured are readily available. Slate is a hard rock that naturally breaks into thin, smooth layers, and has a composition and structure that enables it to be easily cut into square pieces and then sanded to the proper texture. Slate quoit boards are also popular because slate has a consistency which when impacted by a hard rubber quoit deadens the impact, providing a characteristic thump when thrown properly, which sound is familiar and soothing to regular quoit players. Slate also has a surface friction which retards sliding of the quoits down the slanted surface of the board.
A drawback of slate quoit boards which hindered growth of the game outside of the “slate belt” is that it is prohibitively expensive to transport or ship pairs of slate quoit boards each weighing approximately 66 pounds even relatively short distances. In addition, while slate has properties that make it ideal for quoit boards, slate chips rather easily, so that greater-than-normal care in packaging and transporting the boards is required, further increasing the shipping costs. The present inventor therefore developed a quoit board which through a unique manufacturing process and method is made of a lighter, more durable plastic material, weighing less than 25 pounds, that also simulates the experience of using a slate quoit board. This board is the subject of U.S. Pat. No. 7,249,766 owned by the present inventor, and has helped to expand the popularity of quoits into areas where it was previously relatively unknown. Non-slate quoit boards made of other materials or combinations of materials, such as a wood board having a sheet-like plastic surface, are also now available.
Conventional quoits is intended to be played in a well-lit environment, with the light source being either natural daylight or an artificial light source, as otherwise the playing surface becomes difficult to see. Quoits is typically played at outdoor social gatherings such as Holiday picnics, family reunions, company events, and the like. Many outdoor social events, however, also take place or extend into the dusk or evening hours, and where an artificial light source is not available it would be desirable if quoits could be more easily played in such dimly lit environments. One possibility is to illuminate the outline of the board, or the scoring rings. It would be more desirable, however, if the central pin could be illuminated, since ultimately the central pin is the target the players are aiming at in attempting to throw “ringers”, or in the event a ringer is not thrown, at least for their quoits to land on the board surface as close to the pin as possible. Illuminating the central pin is problematic, however, since the pin and hub structure and assembly must be sufficiently strong and durable to withstand the forces exerted on the pin and hub from being repeatedly struck by the heavy rubber quoits, which is why the pins are typically made of a hard metal material such as aluminum or brass. A further consideration is that the light source cannot be mounted to the quoit board in a manner that would disrupt or distract from normal game play, or in a position where the lights may be damaged by the thrown quoits. There is therefore a need for a hub assembly for a quoit board in which the center pin can be illuminated to facilitate play in dimly lit environments, that is sufficiently rugged and durable, and in which the light source is protected from damage.